14 May 2012

The Zamora Trophy belongs to Valdés

Victor Valdés has matched the record of the legendary Antoni Ramallets, up to now the only goalkeeper to have won the Zamora trophy for the fewest goals conceded an amazing five times.

He is also the first goalkeeper to win the trophy four years running.

"I’m excited about winning this fifth Zamora trophy and equalling Ramallets. He’s a reference point for me in goal”. Although Victor Valdés has always given priority to collective prizes rather than individual honours, his achievement this season of winning a fourth consecutive Zamora trophy (for the goalkeeper who concedes the fewest goals) is a source of great pride as it puts him up alongside one of the all-time greats, Antoni Ramallets. Valdés has now won the trophy five times (2004/05, 20008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12), equalling the efforts of Ramallets, up to now the only player to win the trophy five times (1951/52, 1955/56, 1956/57, 1958/59 and 1959/60).

It’s taken 52 years for another goalkeeper to equal the record set by Ramallets. And it’s fitting that it should be equalled by a Barça player. This latest honour consolidates Barça’s position at the top of the Zamora ranking with 19 trophies, ahead of Real Madrid’s 16.

Valdés has not only equalled Ramallets; he has also set a new record of four consecutive Zamora trophies, all of which he has won during Guardiola’s time in charge.

In laying claim to this year’s trophy, Valdés conceded a miserly 28 goals in 35 matches, giving him an average of 0.8 goals per match. Along the way he’s kept 17 clean sheets and established a record of 896 minutes (between 21st September and 6th November) without conceding a goal in competitive matches. (via FCBarcelona.com)